The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1887-01-02
THE HOLIDAYS AT NAPLES.
Eating Thanksgiving Dinner in Sight of
Observation-Disclosures Fish and Eels.
More About Amalfi and Pastum-HistOric
Ground and Historic Personages-Long-
fellows Tribute to Amalf.
Correspondence of the Indianapolis journal.

Correspondence of the indianapolis journal.
NAPLES, Dec. 15.-Christmas is nearing US,
and, In Naples, that festive season is heralded
by the news of the cells and fish that Italian
toilers OF the deep are preparing for this market
/ had my mouth water as | read in the Indian
apois Journal, of the Oath of November. your
account OF the quantity and the cheapness,
this year. of THANKSGIVING turkeys and chickens
in indianapolis. and l will just say here that the
price of barn yard fowls in Naples this year is
twice that you pay In your market. Neverthe-
less got a small turkey-brought down from
the lower vallies of the Apennines-and we man
aged on the 25sh of November to celebrate
Thanksgiving here. within sight of Mount
Vesuvius. We had hoped to have with us, on
that day, Mrs. Clarkson Davis, of Spice
land, Ind, but the steamer on which
she's was, arrived at p. NJ that day, and
Quarantine, to undergo an inspection" of TWEEN
ty Tour hours; therefore, Mrs Davis had to go
without the regulation dinner at the house of an
1ndanian. Notwithstanding our deprivation of
the society of one we esteem so highly we had a
most characteristic dinner in regard to the per
sons present. for we two consider ourselves
Though one Is an anuexationl Hooslers Miss
Florence NJ Cronise depending Che winter here)
had been in Indianapolis, Miss Della Benton
tsister of the artist, Dwight Benton) had resided
SO long at Cincinnati that we counted her as an
Indanian. One guest who had never been
present at an American THANKSGIVING dinner
WAS lassie of Scotch origin, whose grand
fathers name, Gen, Sir John Douglas Bryce
and your other Indianapolis Scotchman, will re-
call for Sir John was the commandment chief of
the Queens FORCES in North Britain. So much
for the guests. AS to the bill-of-fare, I called
attention to the fact that it was composed main
iy OF materials for which Europeans ought to be
thankful to the American continent and isles
The turkey was a native of western SOIL the
pnmpkin-ths excellent pies from which had
been built" by Miss Benton and Miss Cronise-
was also introduced into Eufope from America; the
tomato soup was made from that vegetable (good
as 1t IL, will not call it Fruit first brought
from the island Of Hayti, and the potato was a
native of south America, and only was fully
adopted in Europe a century ago. We had "a
good time generally" and drank the health of
absent friends inwell, it will not do to tell for
fear the w. T. z. would understand us-but
they might drink it, think without scruple
80 much for Thanksgiving in Naples. which,
think, no Americans save ourselves enjoyed that
day here as 1t is not the season for our country
men to arrive In great numbers.
Now to return to Christmas here, / said the
advent OF that season was heralde6 by the news
OF the cells and fab that are to be here on that
suspicious OCCASION to play great part in the
fasting tyes fasting" " which every weli.regu-
lated Neapolitan considers he must undergo
Alack! what starvation he has at Christm as time
To contemplate its n sery let me give Won a few
statistics OF the astronomical performances In
this city at yule tide last year. There Is pc
culiar kind OF eel found in the ponds and marsh
es adjacent to the sea shore the coast of Italy
1t is called the "caponi" OF these no less than
mas by the half million of people
within gates. This number is
known by the actual entry at the municipal
custom house, where, different from America,
Oil 1000 except fruit and vegetables must pay
tax. These 'caPoni" average two to pound, SO
that two millions Of cells came to help the Nea.
DoEtans In their fasting. One Of the daiss here
computed that, If laid down, end for end the
line would stretch away for 500 miles. You
may well ask, why do the lower order and the
middle class Neopoltans eat such quantity of
squirmers fried in oil, favored with onions, and
washed down by thin, red wine which the
strictsst prohibitonist would refuse. only on the
ground that it was too souri, The answer is, it
IS for very churchy reason. The Roman Cath
CEc Church long ago decreed that Christmas was
fast. or festival preceded by a fast Now,
fasting here in Naples means abstinence from
meat, but you may stuff yourself with as much
fish, eels oysters, Holsters, CLAIMS sea .echeni
and many other things as you please. You
may, In other words, gorge yourself, and yet
keep righteous fast. The Neopolitans like this
kind Of fasting, and so the whole round Of
Christmas eve II one grand stufing not found
elsewhere outside Of q sausage mandatory.
The height of the fasting ta Ia at midnight
And the denicens OF the briny deep, neatly eels
prepared In the manner have spoken
W. uhu ehC OoCCoEOul CAKES peculiar
to the season, and many other
things are consumed In vast quantities.
This year l see by the papers that q third
more cells are to come into the market than last
last year, q, l,3S8, 333 1-3 pounds, or, measur
Ing length, 6s6 2-3 miles. What a gorgeous feast
We shall hsve
Last July l wrote you letter concerning
-AmalA but did not finish the subject, and SO /
began another letter from the Same spot, which
now conclude. Notwithstanding the time that
has pasaed since then, l take up my thread where
! laid It down. told you something about
Afnslh. this little city BY the sea, where sprane
mp. after the Christian era. republic, which.
like Venice, Genoa and Pisa. made the Italian
name respected far and wide for enterprise valor
and invention l stated how, before the crusades,
the Anal6nn commercial houses were estab-
lished in what Is now known as Turkey in
Europe. l. O.. Asia Minor, and in Egypt So
when the great uprising came over the nations
OF the continent to chase che Saracen from the
Holy Land the Amalftaui. with their ships and
with their business connections in the East were
just the men to make hay while the sun
'commssary stores Thus the already
fourshiug Amalf became wider known
and more famous than before A little
stream called the Cannstto comes tumbling
down the steep mountains through the deep
gorge Ten either side Of which the towers rise.
tier on tier, and turns the great wheels of the
mills. % Longfsllow says In his poem called
"Amalh. There manufacturing was and lie ear
r:ad on. More than thousand feet above
Amaf is little village on a cliff. where to day
the great objects of manufacture are wrought
nails. Here In the days lot the crusades and
previously lance and spear heads were amongst,
the warltke implements manufactured-upo
those lofty heights xnere no enemy could sail
and make sudden seizure. In the city itself
wheat broueh, from the adjacent eoast or from
Sicily was ground, other industries were carried
on. an~ above all, money was coined The
s'Tara OF Amala' was wine known all through
the Iievant as well as in southern Europe The
end took In ali the neighbornR coast, mountains
And country from near Salerno to Sorrento.
On the heights above Amalf, but further TO
the east, 10 perehed the town of Ravello. / 200
feet above the level Of the sea- 1t Is one of those
places once belonging to the old republic of
Amsin. but placing itself 10 the eleventh century
nnder the famous Robert Guiscard Ii xaa aftar